Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States’ top public health agency has been removed from her post, weeks after being appointed by President Donald Trump, news agency AP said on Wednesday.
“Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people,” the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.
The Washington Post first reported she was ousted, citing unnamed sources within the Trump administration.
The HHH officials, however, did not explain why Monarez was no longer with the agency. Before the department’s late afternoon announcement, she told The Associated Press: “I can’t comment.”
Monarez’s departure coincided with the resignations of at least three top CDC officials: Dr Debra Houry, the agency’s deputy director; Dr Daniel Jernigan, head of the agency’s National Centre for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr Demetre Daskalakis, head of its National Centre for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases.
Who is Susan Monarez?
Monarez, 50, was the agency’s 21st director and the first to pass through Senate confirmation following a 2023 law. She was named acting director in January and then tapped as the nominee in March after Trump abruptly withdrew his first choice, David Weldon.
She was sworn in on July 31, less than a month ago, making her the shortest-serving CDC director in the agency’s 79-year history.
Before being tapped as the head of the CDC, Monarez, a federal scientist, was deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a federal agency created during the Biden administration that set out to fund innovative biomedical research.
Short, yet tumultuous tenure
Though there was no official reason of her firing, many theories linked to the development were circulated on social media. Brian Krassenstein, a pro-Democrat social media influencer, said the firing may be linked to Monarez’s views on pediatric vaccinations.
Monarez’s short time at CDC was tumultuous. On 8 August, at the end of her first full week on the job, a Georgia man opened fire from a spot at a pharmacy across the street from CDC’s main entrance. The 30-year-old man blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal. He killed a police officer and fired more than 180 shots into CDC buildings before killing himself.
No one at CDC was injured, but it shell-shocked a staff that already had low morale from other recent changes.
The Atlanta-based federal agency was initially founded to prevent the spread of malaria in the U.S. Its mission was later expanded, and it gradually became a global leader on infectious and chronic diseases and a go-to source of health information.
Not fired, say her lawyers
This year, it has been hit by widespread staff cuts, key official resignations, and heated controversy over long-standing CDC vaccine policies upended by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
During her Senate confirmation process, Monarez told senators that she values vaccines, public health interventions and rigorous scientific evidence. But she largely dodged questions about whether those positions put her at odds with Kennedy, a longtime vaccine sceptic who has criticised and sought to dismantle some of the agency’s previous protocols and decisions.
Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people.
After the HHH announcement, Monarez’s lawyers released a statement claiming that she was not fired. Mark S Zaid and Abbe David Lowell, who say they represent Susan Monarez, issued a statement saying that Monarez has neither resigned nor been fired.
“First it was independent advisory committees and career experts. Then it was the dismissal of seasoned scientists. Now, Secretary Kennedy and HHS have set their sights on weaponizing public health for political gain and putting millions of American lives at risk,” the statement shared on X read.
